Indore (Madhya Pradesh): It was a close shave for more than five critical cardiac patients in Care CHL Hospital on Wednesday as a major fire broke out in the Cardiac ICU on the first floor.
The panic prevailed among the patients and their family members when the ICU was filled with dark smoke and the staff was struggling in shifting the patients. Fortunately, the patients were shifted to another ICU on time as no casualty was reported in the incident.
Meanwhile, a team of fire fighters led by in-charge SK Subey too reached the scene with five fire tenders and helped the hospital staff in shifting the patients and ventilating the smoke.
“The fire broke out in the multi monitor unit near bed no. 15 of the ICU at 10.40 pm. We received the information at 10:47 PM and reached the spot in five minutes. However, the hospital staff had already managed the situation and shifted the patients to other wards,” Dubey said.
Chief operating officer Dhananjay Kumar told Free Press, “It was a short circuit in the electrical panel which caused the fire. Our doctors, nursing staff, and doctors managed the situation well and timely shifted the patients. No patient is being harmed in the incident.”
He said that they will review the reasons for the fire and work on it. Large number of attendants and family members of patients reached the hospital after learning about the incident. Family members were allowed to meet the patients after one hour of the incident.
“I reached the hospital after receiving information of a fire in the ICU. The hospital had submitted the fire safety certificate but we will again check the same and will ask them to go through a fire safety audit again. It was fortunate that no patient was harmed in the incident.”
Dr BS Saitya
CMHO, Indore
A mason breaks ICU glass with bare hands
Mason by profession Ashok Khatwase got injured in the incident as he had broken the glass of the ICU by his hands. “I had come to see one of my relatives at the hospital. When I was returning, my wife told me about the smoke that erupted from the first floor. I immediately rushed to the ICU and found it engulfed with dark smoke. As it was so dark and suffocating, I just rushed to the window and broke the glass with my hands. I got injured while doing this but I am satisfied that the patients were saved on time,” he told Free Press.
